Ex-boyfriend ordered to trial for young Warren mother's murder

A jailed Detroit man has been ordered to stand trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend last December in her Warren home.

Johncarlos Johnson, 26, was bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court after he waived his right to a probable-cause hearing Tuesday in 37th District Court. He faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Shalisa Lemia O’Dell, 25. Johnson is the father of her 2-year-old son.

O’Dell’s body was found Dec. 8 in her home on Garrick Avenue by a cousin who went to check on her after not hearing from the Warren woman for two days as the cousin baby-sat the child, Warren police said.

Detectives believe O’Dell died a day or two before the grisly discovery in the blood-splattered living room of the home near Dequindre and Nine Mile roads.

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An autopsy determined O’Dell had suffered multiple skull fractures. Investigators also suspect she had been sexually assaulted. Police recovered a weapon they believe was used in the slaying but have refused to specify the item.

O’Dell and Johnson had never married, and police officials suspect that her refusal to rekindle the couple’s relationship may have been the motive for the slaying.

O’Dell worked as an exotic dancer at Déjà Vu, a topless lounge in Highland Park. Detectives interviewed some of her coworkers in the days after her body was found because she had not shown up for work for several days.

Investigators said there were no indications of a break-in at O’Dell’s sparsely furnished home, and none of her belongings appeared to be missing. She did not own a vehicle but used a taxicab to go to and from club.

It was not uncommon for O’Dell to go days without speaking to her parents and other relatives, but she frequently checked on her son when he was in the care of a baby-sitter.

In front of 37th District Judge Dean Ausilio on Tuesday, Johnson waived his right to a preliminary exam – a hearing to determine whether prosecutors can show sufficient evidence that a defendant probably committed a crime. That standard of proof is far less than during a trial – where a jury must unanimously feel that evidence shows a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, in order to convict.

Johnson remains held in the Macomb County Jail in lieu of $2 million bond.